Materials handling scoop

ABSTRACT

This materials handling apparatus includes a scoop, having a push plate slidably mounted therein. Lazy tongs connected to the back of the scoop and to the push plate are extended and retracted by a hydraulic cylinder which can be operably connected to the hydraulic system of a fork lift truck. The scoop includes channel shaped shoes projecting from the bottom thereof for receiving the forks of a fork lift truck such that the entire assembly can be mounted on a fork lift truck.

nited States Patent 1191 1 Kughler 214/514 11] 3,788,507 Voss' 5] Jan.29, 11974 MATERIALS HANDLING SCOOP 3,516,641 6/1970 Ferguson 214/5142,482,692 9 1949 uales 214 620 [76] Inventor: Herman Vlsta Tera3,079,021 2l1963 OhOISl et al... 214/1 16 E Muskegon, Mlch- 494422,610,824 9/1952 Grier 214/82 x [22] Filed: Aug. 25, 1971 PrimaryExaminer-Robert J. Spar [21] 174867 Attorney, Agent, or FirmPrice,Heneveld, Huizenga & Cooper [52] US. Cl. 214/620, 214/82, 214/146 E,

. 214/514 151 161.0 ..'B66f 9/19 [57] ABSTRACT Field of a 1 146 Thismaterials handling apparatus includes a scoop, 214/6 1, 510 having apush plate slidably mounted therein. Lazy 1 tongs connected to the backof the scoop and to the References Cited push plate are extended andretracted by a hydraulic UNITED STATES PATENTS cylinder which can beoperably connected to the hy- 3,040,914 6/1962 161111866 6: al. 214/514x draulic System a lift truck- The includes 2,707,573 5 1955 Balwics .Q214/514 x Channel Shaped Shoes Projecting from the bottom 2,730,377 21957 Glenn, Jr et 1 2 4 20 X thereof for receiving the'forks of a forklift truck such 3,640,414 2/1 972 Brodi 214/514 that the entire assemblycan be mounted on a fork lift 3,488,870 1/1970 Holets et a1 214/82 Xtruck, 2,863,580 12/1958 Kamin 214/82 X 2,993,610 5 Claims, 4 DrawingFigures 1 MATERIALS HANDLING SCOOP BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thepresent invention relates to materials handling. It is particularlyuseful in handling scrap metal and the like which is to be charged intoa furnace for reclamation or loaded onto a truck for removal.

Aluminum is often recovered .from scrap metal by charging the scrap intoa furnace and thereby causing the aluminum to melt and drain off. In thepast, the scrap has been laboriously shoveled into the furnace. Onecould use a front loader for this operation, scooping up the scrap'andthen dumping it-onto a chute on which it would slide down into thefurnace. However, such a piece of equipment is quite expensive and mostfactories cannot afford making such an investment for a piece ofequipment having only a specialized use.

Thus this scrap handlingfproblem is one example of a specializedmaterials handlingproblem which cannot be economically solved byexisting equipment.

SUMMARY oF THE INVENTION The. present invention constitutes a scraphandling attachment which can readily be attached to or re- 'moved froma conventional fork lift truck. Since a fork lift truck has numeroususes in most factory environ-' nected to three-way valve 70 which ismounted on fork lifttruck 100 and which is tied into hydraulic line 101.A pair of shoes 60 project downwardly from the bottom of scoop 10 forreceiving the forks 102 and fork lift truck 100.

Scoop 10 includes a pair of sides 11 and a bottom 12,

all integrally formed of stiff sheet metal (FIGS. 1 and 2). It is openin front. A back or brace 13 extends across the rear of scoop 10 tobrace the sides 11 and to serve as a mounting bracket forlazy tongs 40(FIG. 2). Brace 13 is a generally C-shaped angle iron bracket (FIG. 3).

Push plate 20 includes a rigid, sheet metal plate 21 which is braced onits rear side by a generally C-shaped angle iron brace 22 (FIGS. 2, 3,and 4). Brace 22 is welded to plate 21 and'extends generally across thewidth of the back thereof. (The central portion is broken away in FIG.4).

Welded to brace 22 and extending -perpendicularly away from the rear ofplate 21 is a stabilizer flange 23 mounted at each side of' plate 21(FIGS. 2 and 4). These are generally L-shaped brackets having a legextending generally parallel to sides 11 and having a base extendinggenerally parallel to bottom 12 (FIG. 4).

-Mounted near the front and rear of each stabilizer not needed such thatthe fork lift truck is freed for other assignments. H

The invention includes a scoop having intelligence thereon for securingit to'the forks ofa fork lift truck.

The scoop includes a'p'ush plate mounted therein alongwith a means fordriving the push plate fore and aft in the scoop. Thus, materials 'suchas scrap can be scooped up with the push plate in a retracted position,and can then be discharged from the, scoop by forcing theplate"forwardly. Preferably, the means for moving the push plate is hydraulicand can be readily tied into or disconnected from the hydraulic systemof the fork lift truck. It is valsopreferable that the plate includerearwardly projecting "flanges with wheels thereon to stabilize the pushplatein it s fore and aft movement.

These and other features, obj ects and advantages of the invention'willbe appreciated by reference to the written specification and appendeddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION or TH DRAWINGS PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the Preferredembodiment, the materials handling assembly 1 includes a scoop 10 havinga push plate 20 slidably mounted therein (FIG. 1). A pusher assembly30,. including lazy tongs 40 and hydraulic cylinder 50, ismounted'inscoop. ,10 for moving push plate 20 fore and aft therein;Hydraulic cylinder 50 is operablyconflange 23 on the leg thereof is aside roller assembly 24 including a pair of small rollers or wheels.These side rollers'24 roll against the sides 11 of scoop 10 to providefriction free movement .of push plate 20. Similarly,

each stabilizer flange 23 includes a pair of bottom rollers 25 (FIGS. 3and 4), one being located near the front and one being located near therear of stabilizer flange 23 on the base thereof. Each roller 25includes two small wheels, and rollers 25 serve the function ofprovidingfriction-free movement of push plate 20 along bottom 12.

Pusher assembly includes lazy tongs and hydraulic cylinder 50 (FIG. 1).Lazy tongs 40 are conventional and comprise a plurality of metal strips41 hingedly joined by hinge pins 42 to form several parallelograms, inthis case three (FIG. 2). There are two they force push plate 20forwardly and when contracted, they draw push plate 20 rearwardly.

Hydraulic cylinder 50 is secured at opposite ends to the diametricallyopposed hinge pins of one of the parallelograms of lazy tongs 40,preferably the rearmost to minimize its travel (FIGS. 2 and 4).Hydraulic cylinder 50 is a conventional hydraulic mechanism, having abracket 53 at the head of its piston 54 which is secured to one hingepin 42 (FIG. 4). The opposite end of cylinder 50 is securedby bracket 55to a hinge pin 42 which is diametrically opposed to the hingepin 42 towhich bracket 53 is secured. Cylinder 50 is oriented laterally withrespect to scoop 10 rather than longitudinally such that upon expansionof cylinder 50, lazy tongs 40 contracts thereby moving push plate 20rearwardly in scoop 10. When hydraulic cylinder 50 contracts as shown inFIG. 2, push plate 20 is moved forwardly, all the way to the front ofscoop l0.

Hydraulic cylinder 50 is tied into the hydraulic system of fork lifttruck 100 by means of a feed line or expansion line 51 which goes to thebase of cylinder 50 and a relief line 52 which is secured to the head ofcylinder 50 (FIGS. 1 and 2). The lines 51 and 52 are joined to athree-way valve 70 which is mounted in the hydraulic line 101 of forklift truck 100 ahead of the valve box 103. Valve box 103 is used toeffect the lifting of forks 102 and the tilting of the fork tower 105.It has been found that three-way valve 70 should be positioned ahead ofvalve box 103, or in other words, upstream from valve box 103 onhydraulic line 101. It has been found that when three-way valve 70 ispositioned downstream of valve box 103, the valves in valve box 103 aresomehow operated by the operation of threeway valve 70. On the otherhand, this does not occur when three-way valve 70 is positioned upstreamfrom valve box 103.

Lines 51 and 52 are joined to three-way valve 70 by means ofconventional quick-snap couplings 56 such that lines 51 and 52 can bereadily connected and disconnected (FIG. 1). Three-way valve 70 includesa lever 71 for effectuating its control and for thereby effectuatingcontrol of hydraulic cylinder 50 and lazy tongs 40.

Depending from the bottom of scoop 10 are a pair of shoes 60, positionednear the opposite sides 11 of scoop 10 (FIG. 4). Each shoe 60 comprisesan elongated, generally channel-shaped bracket which is welded to thebottom 12 of scoop 10 (FIGS. 3 and 4). Being channel-shaped, each shoe60 includes a base 62 and a pair of upwardly extending sidewalls 61.Each shoe 6 is sufficiently long that when forks 102 of fork lift truck100 are received in shoe 60, wobbling of scoop 10 on forks 102 isprevented or at least minimized. The inside dimensions. of each shoe 60correspond approximately to the outside dimensions of forks 102 suchthat a comfortable, non-sloppy fit is achieved between forks 102 andshoes 60.

OPERATION When a special materials handling operation has to beperformed, such as charging scrap metal into a furnace, a fork lifttruck 100 which has previously been used to load cartons of material,can be disengaged from this taskand can be driven into endwise alignmentwith the materials handling apparatus 1 of the present invention. Theforks 102 are aligned with shoes 60 and fork lift truck 100 is drivenforwardly until the forks 102 are received in shoes 60. With scoop 10 inposition on forks 102, hydraulic cylinder 50 is tied into hydraulic line101 by lines 51 and 52 being coupled onto three-way valve 70 byquick-fit couplings 56. With these basic operations performed, theapparatus 1 is now ready to handle its assignment.

The operator of the fork lift truck 100 attacks a pile of scrap metal bydriving fork lift truck forwardly until a quantity of scrap is scoopedup into scoop 10. At this point, push plate is in its rearward positionas shown in FIG. 1. Fork lift truck 100 is then driven over to the scrapfurnace and if necessary, the forks 102 are elevated to the level of thefurnace door. With the front end of scoop 10 positioned in front of theopen furnace door. lever 71 of three-way valve 70 is pushed eitherforwardly or rearwardly, depending on the particular Way in which thethree-way valve 70 is tied into the system, and push plate 20 is therebypropelled forwardly by the contracting action of cylinder 50 causinglazy tongs 40 to expand (FIG. 2). This forces the scrap out of scoop 10and into the furnace. Push plate 20 is then retracted by forcing lever71 to its extreme opposite position and once push plate 20 is soretracted, lever 71 is allowed to return to its normal upright position.Forks 102 are then again lowered in a conventional manner.

As push plate 20 is propelled forwardly and rearwardly, stabilizerflanges 23 prevent sloppy or wobbly movement thereof within scoop 10.The side rollers 24 between stabilizer flanges 23 and sidewalls 11provide friction free contact therebetween and the bottom rollers 25 onthe base of stabilizer flanges 23 cause push plate 20 to roll smoothlyalong the bottom 12 of scoop l0.

Wobbling movement of scoop 10 with respect to forks 102 is prevented bythe relative length of shoes 60. This insures positive workability ofthe apparatus at all times.

Once such a specific scrap handling detail has been completed, thematerials handling apparatus 1 can be readily disengaged from fork lifttruck 100, thereby relieving that fork lift truck for the performance ofother duties. Lines 51 and 52 are uncoupled from three-way valve 70,shoes 60 are allowed to contact the flooriand fork lift truck 100 isdriven in reverse until forks 102 slide out of engagement with shoes 60.

Thus, it can be seen that the present invention provides a relativelyinexpensive materials handling apparatus which can be used inconjunction with a conventional fork lift truck. The necessity of usinga special piece of apparatus such as a front loader, is eliminated.Thus, the apparatus of the present invention not only eliminates workthat previously had to be done by hand, but also greatly increases theversatility of the fork lift truck.

Of course, it is understood that the above is merely a preferredembodiment of the invention and that many changes and alterations can bemade thereof without departing from the spirit and broader aspects ofthe invention.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A materials handling scoop for securing to a forklift truckcomprising: a scoop having sides, a bottom and an open front; receivingmeans on said scoop for operably engaging the forks of a forklift truck;a push plate slidably mounted in said scoop and extending generally fromone side of said scoop to the other; pusher means mounted on said scoopfor moving said push plate fore or aft of said scoop; said pusher meansincludes a hydraulic cylinder and means for securing said hydrauliccylinder to the hydraulic system of said lift truck; said pusher meansincluding lazy tongs; said scoop including means at the back of saidscoop for mounting one end of said lazy tongs thereto; said lazy tongsbeing mounted at the other end to said push plate; said cylinder beingsecured at opposite ends to diametrically opposed hinges of a givenparallelogram section of said lazy tongs.

2. The scoop of claim 1 in which: said cylinder is connected laterallyacross said parallelogram with respect to the direction of movement ofsaid push plate.

3. A materials handling scoop for securing to a forklift truckcomprising: a scoop having sides, a bottom and an open front; receivingmeans on said scoop for operably-engaging the forks of a forklift truck;a push plate slidably mounted in said scoop and extending generally fromone side of said scoop to the other; said push plate including a flangeprojecting rearwardly from each side thereof, in proximity with saidsides of said scoop for stabilizing the movement of said push plate;pusher means mounted on said scoop for moving said push plate fore andaft of said scoop; said'pusher means including a hydraulic cylinder andmeans for securing said cylinder to the hydraulic system of saidforklift truck; said pusher means including lazy tongs; said scoopincluding means at the back of said scoop for mounting one' .end of said.lazy tongs thereto; said 6 lazy tongs being mountedat the other end tosaid push plate; said cylinder being secured at opposite ends todiametrically opposed hinges of a given parallelogram section of saidlazy tongs.

of said fork lift truck.

1. A materials handling scoop for securing to a forklift truckcomprising: a scoop having sides, a bottom and an open front; receivingmeans on said scoop for operably engaging the forks of a forklift truck;a push plate slidably mounted in said scoop and extending generally fromone side of said scoop to the other; pusher means mounted on said scoopfor moving said push plate fore or aft of said scoop; said pusher meansincludes a hydraulic cylinder and means for securing said hydrauliccylinder to the hydraulic system of said lift truck; said pusher meansincluding lazy tongs; said scoop including means at the back of saidscoop for mounting one end of said lazy tongs thereto; said lazy tongsbeing mounted at the other end to said push plate; said cylinder beingsecured at opposite ends to diametrically opposed hinges of a givenparallelogram section of said lazy tongs.
 2. The scoop of claim 1 inwhich: said cylinder is connected laterally across said parallelogramwith respect to the direction of movement of said push plate.
 3. Amaterials handling scoop for securing to a forklift truck comprising: ascoop having sides, a bottom and an open front; receiving means on saidscoop for operably engaging the forks of a forklift truck; a push plateslidably mounted in said scoop and extending generally from one side ofsaid scoop to the other; said push plate including a flange projectingrearwardly from each side thereof, in proximity with said sides of saidscoop for stabilizing the movement of said push plate; pusher meansmounted on said scoop for moving said push plate fore and aft of saidscoop; said pusher means including a hydraulic cylinder and means forsecuring said cylinder to the hydraulic system of said forklift truck;said pusher means including lazy tongs; said scoop including means atthe back of said scoop for mounting one end of said lazy tongs thereto;said lazy tongs being mounted at the other end to said push plate; saidcylinder being secured at opposite ends to diametrically opposed hingesof a given parallelogram section of said lazy tongs.
 4. The scoop ofclaim 3 in which: said cylinder is connected laterally across saidparallelogram with respect to the direction of movement of said pushplate.
 5. The scoop of claim 4 in which: said receiving means includesat least one channel shaped bracket secured to the bottom of said scoopand projecting downwardly therefrom; said bracket being sufficientlylong to minimize lateral shifting of said scoop on the forks of saidfork lift truck.